Rail-fastener



No. 620,9l2.

W. GRAHAM.

RAIL FASTENER.

(Application filed Dec. 17, 1898.) -(No Model.)

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Patented Mar. 14, I899.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM GRAHAM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VRAIL-FASTENER'.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 620,912, dated March 14, 1899.

Application-filed December 17,1898. Serial No. 699,583. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illi: nois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Fasteners,of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to that class of railfasteners which are used in connection with railway-rails for the purpose of securing the same in p'osition,and particularly to the means by which they may be adj ustably held in position so as to bring them into alinement or to obtain the proper gage of the tracks.

The object of my-invention is to provide a simple, economical, and efficient adjustable rail-fastener for securing a railway-rail to a supporting structure, which may be a metal or other tie or the cross-girders of a bridge; and the invention consists in the features, combinations, and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse sectional View taken on line 1 of Fig. 2, showing my improvedrailway-fastener in position for use; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same, shown partly in section, taken on line 2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a sectional elevation taken on line 3 of Fig. 1.

In the art to which this invention relates it is well known that various means are employed for securing a railway-rail to a tie, girder, sleeper, or to the metallic superstructures of bridges, viaducts, and the like, the particular and simplest means being a headed spike which is driven into an ordinary sleeper and has its head in engagement with the flange of the rail and rests against its lateral edge so as to hold the rail down and prevent lateral displacement. Various improvements have been made upon this simple form of mechanism, all of which are more or less obj ectionable in that they are expensive to manufacture when compared with the common method, are inefficient in operation, and entail considerable Y trouble in bringing the tracks into alinement when gaged. My invention, therefore, is intended to overcome the various objections existing in the art and to provide a simple, economical, and efficient adjustable clip which will permit of economically resetting the gage of the track or bringing the tracks into alinement originally after they have been disturbed by any cause.

In illustrating and describing my improvement I have shown it as used in connection with a portion of a bridge; but it will be un derstood that with slight mechanical changes it is susceptible of being used in connection with any of the various kinds of supporting structures, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to its use in connectionwith bridge structures.

In constructing my improvement I make a fastening-clip A, which in its original and normal condition is a rectangular piece of wrought-iron or low-grade steel; but when it is bolted down by means of a securing-bolt B or similar element, so as to bear on the rail-flange, it assumes the shape shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings and holds the track 0 rigidly in position, the residual spring in the clip acting in conjunction with the clamping force of the bolt to hold the track as described. The rail is laid on tie-plates D, which in turn rest on the supporting structure or sleeper D and through which the securing-bolts are passed.

To assist the fastening-clip and securingbolt above described in holding the railin position, a rectangular washer E is provided, which has an oblong slot 6, arranged at an angle to the lateral edges e and e of the washer, that are adapted to rest against the lateral edges of the rail fiange. The elongated angular slot 6 should preferably be of a diameter substantially the same asthe bolt, though it may be larger; but it is important that the edge e of the slot shall rest against the bolt, so as to hold the washer against the rails to determine and hold the rail in the desired position.

It will be noticed from an inspection of the drawings that when it is desired to change the position of the rail, either to bring it into alinement or obtain the proper gage,the nut b of the securing bolts may be loosened slightly and the washers E driven in the desired direction. For instance, if it be necessary to change the rail to the right the washer on the right is driven in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 2, while the washer at the left is driven in the opposite manner, which action changes the position of the rail. The

securing-bolts are then retightened and the clip caused to hold the parts in the desired position. It will also be noticed by an inspection of Fig. 2 that the washer is preferably rectangular in sizein other words, its lateral edges 8' and e are substantially paralle1and,f urther, that the elongated angular slot extends lengthwise of and is to one side of the longitudinal center of the washer. By this arrangement the washer may be turned around edge for edge and a greater area of adjustment obtained. Assuming the washer to be of the correct proportions, an adjustment of about one inch may be obtained by simply using the washer in one position until its limit has been reached, then turning it half-way around and using it in the other position, all of which can be done without removing the securing-bolt ordrilling new holes in the structure, a very important advantage in this art.

It is desirable, though not always necessary, to provide some means of preventing the rectangular washer from bucking out of its position, and in order to accomplish this result a locking-strip E, of soft iron, is provided and secured between the washer and tie-plate. Its rear end is bent upwardly and inwardly at E to contact the washer. lVhenever it is necessary to change the washer, the locking-strip is rebent to contact the washer in its new position.

Instead of using the securing-bolts in connection with the supporting structure a lagscrew and in emergencies even the ordinary headed railway-spike may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim-- 1. In a rail-fastener, the combination of a clip adapted to bear on the flange of a railway-rail, means for securing the clip to a supporting structure, and a washer interposed between the clip and the sleeper or similar element and having one lateral edge adapted to bear against the lateral edge of a rail-flange and an angular edge bearing against the securing mechanism for the purpose of adjustably holding the rail in position, substantially as described.

2. In a rail-fastener, the combination of a clip adapted to bear on the flange of a railway-rail, a bolt or similar element for securing the parts to a supporting structure, and a washer interposed between the clip and the supporting structure and having one of its lateral edges adapted to rest against the lateral edge of the rail-flange and provided with an elongated slot arranged at an angle to its lateral edge and lengthwise thereof so that the movement of the washer longitudinally may be used to adjust the position of the rail, substantially as described.

3. In a rail-fastener, the combination of a clip adapted to bear on the flange of a railway-rail, a bolt or similar element for securing the parts to a supporting structure, a washer interposed between the clipand the supporting structure and having one of its lateral edges adapted to rest against the lateral edge of the rail-flange and provided with an elongated slot arranged at an angle to its lateral edge and lengthwise thereof so that the movement of the washer longitudinally may be used to adjust the position of the rail, and means forpreveuting the longitudinal movement of the washer, substantially as described.

a. In a rail-fastener, the combination of a clip adapted to bear on the flange of a railway-rail, a securing-bolt or similar element for securing the parts to a supporting structure, and a washer having substantially parallel lateral edges adapted to bear against the lateral edge of a railway-rail and provided with an elongated slot arranged at an angle to the lateral edges and extending lengthwise of the washer, substantially as described.

5. In a rail-fastener, the combination of a clip adapted to bear on the flange of a railway-rail, a securing-bolt or similar element for securing the parts to a supporting structure, a washer having substantially parallel lateral edges adapted to bear against the lat-- eral edge of a railway-rail and provided with an elongated slot arranged at an angle to the lateral edges and extending lengthwise of the washer, and a locking-strip of soft metal in terposed between the washer and supporting structure and bent upwardly at one end to contact the end of the washer, substantially as described.

6. In a rail-fastener, the combination of a clip adapted to bear against the flange of a railway-rail, a bolt or similar element for securing the clip to a supporting structure, and a washer interposed between the clip and supporting structure and provided with substantially parallel lateral edges adapted to bear against the lateral edge of a railway-rail and having an elongated slot arranged at an angle to the lateral edges extending substantially longitudinally with the clip and to one side of its longitudinal center, substantially as described.

WILLIAM GRAHAM. Vitnesses:

THOMAS F. SHERIDAN, THOMAS E. MoGREooR.

IIO 

